S/S 2014 Best/Worst Collections

[TheoG]

The season isn't over yet, though. I'm still waiting for a few collections from Japan Fashion Week.

Brilliant:

Junya Watanabe, Dries Van Noten

Strong:

Issey Miyake, Antonio Marras, Cedric Charlier, Tod's, Zero + Maria Cornejo, Ann Demeulemeester, Y-3, Tod's, Hermes

Very Good:

Lanvin, Haider Ackermann, Celine, A.F. Vandervorst, Comme des Garcons, Margaret Howell, Tsumori Chisato, Vivienne Westwood Red Label, Antonio Berardi

Interesting, with Reservations:
Sacai, Yohji Yamamoto, Undercover, Mary Katrantzou, Chalayan, Tess Giberson

It quite obvious you have a love for Japanese designers me too

 

[MoniqValentino]

BEST:
1.VALENTINO- so fresh and girly collection as always
2.ROBERTO CAVALLI-just sexy
3.GUCCI- amazing prints and fabulous dress
4.Altuzarra-beautiful dresses, great sets and original cuts and styles
5.Emanuel Ungaro- just amazing geometric prints I just love it!
and other my fav collection this is Nina Ricci, Stella McCartney,Prada and Gosia Baczynska

WORST:
Rodarte
Saint Laurent
Louis Vuitton
Alexander McQueen
Chanel
Dsquared2

 

[Crying Diamonds]

Best:

Chalayan
Hussein Chalayan knows how to balance a collection using unique design, quality, novelty and wearability. His drape was beautiful and so were his separates. He's terribly underrated.

Nina Ricci
Peter Copping knows how to design desirable clothes and a wardrobe, and he knows how to design using the feminine aesthetic of the house. Some of my favourite looks were from this collection.

Tod's
Facchinetti had an amazing debut collection at Tod's, beautiful, soft, feminine cuts in leather with long blouses and good accessories.

Ralph Rucci
The quality of Ralph Rucci's collections are unsurpassed. He stands a head and shoulders above other mainstream designers in terms of design and abilities.

Thom Browne
Beautifully constructed, beautifully designed, beautifully presented, he should definitely be at McQueen instead of Sarah Burton.

Calvin Klein Collection
Costa can always seduce me with one of his beautifully executed details, or his stunning fabrics.

A.F. Vandevorst
A fantastic design duo, the idea to spatter sand up garments as if it was embellishment was an incredibly beautiful idea.

Jil Sander
Jil has an incredibly unique cut to her clothes, and those gorgeous tailored coats with the one button closure were sold to me as the best of the season.

Ashish
I love the way this brand can present clothes in a cool and desirable way without it seeming contrived. I also loved the sequin plastic bags.


Worst:

J.W. Anderson
A skirt pulled over the head and worn off one shoulder doesn't make it a top. And doing it three times doesn't convince me it is.

Alexander McQueen
Sarah Burton literally needs to chill out and design some actual clothes, instead of ridiculous costumes that have no relevance to fashion or Alexander McQueen.

Rodarte
Need I even bring it up? The sisters have lost their way, and they've fallen into a dark gutter. A dark gutter beside a street full of prostitutes flashing cars in the late 1980's.

Christian Dior
This collection was messy and badly put together. Simons is trying to make minimalism and Christian Dior work when they couldn't be at further ends of the spectrum.


Honourable Mentions:

Vivienne Westwood's incredible drapery, as usual
Manish Arora's fearless use of colour
Chanel's return to wearable clothing
Alberta Ferretti's typically gorgeous and intricate embellishment and perfect placement
Thomas Tait's beautiful plain satin high-neck dresses with bursts of colourful feathers
Miu Miu's gorgeous soft but tailored coats

 

[anlabe32]

Miu Miu

....
...
Prada
Valentino
Alex Wang

I must say though, i'm not really interested in clothes and I don't look at smaller houses.

 

[Creative]

I don’t know if this has been pointed out, but one of the biggest disappointments this season has been Agnona. The Zegna group hyped the comeback of the label so much and it ended up being even more generic and bland than a resort collection from a C-list brand.

 

[IsabelMarantBoy]

I'm having a really hard time trying to come up with collections that I liked, this season has been the worst for me.

although I did love
Miu Miu
Givenchy
Roberto Cavalli
A.P.C
Saint Laurent
Chloe
Balmain
Burberry Prorsum
Dries Van Noten
Honor
Meadham Kirchoff
No. 21
Sonia Rykiel

And while yes I did like these shows, none of them really gave me that wow factor that would normally blow me out of my seat. They were all just nice, which I don't know if it's because fashion is stale or because I'm having a harder time getting excited by it.

Biggest disappointments for me were
Prada
Gucci
Chanel
Valentino
Marc Jacobs
and especially Celine

 

[lady stardust]

Fendi - Elegant and chic

Marc Jacobs - The black dresses..mmm

Miu Miu - Quirky, funny & beautiful

Louis Vuitton - Extraordinare...

 

[ToniOrtega]

Top 10 (in my opinion) collections for Spring 2014:

1. Roberto Cavalli: Beautiful! Cinematic glamour! I loved that the reference of the Roaring Twenties was evident but not dominant to the point of making the collection a rehash of "The Great Gatsby" costumes!

2. Diane Von Furstenberg:Easy glamour! Luxurious but not obvious in a "I have more money than you"-sort of way! Perfect for New Yorkers!


3. Donna Karan - I admit, I'm biased towards this designer, but you can't deny that she has impeccable taste when it comes to creating tribal-inspired clothes! Although the themes is a bit over-used, I love that she didn't follow any certain trends and that her collection was a beautiful stand-out!


4. Dries Van Noten - GOLD! GOLD! GOLD! We all know that GOLD is the prize for winners so...

5. Givenchy - Stellar collection! The drapings in this collection were absolutely superb!

6. Narciso Rodriguez - Beautiful and clean collection! This was for the woman who just wants to be simply beautiful!

7. Balenciaga - What I loved most about this collection was that Alexander Wang's sweetness came out! It was totally Parisian mixed with Wang's confident edginess!

8. Hermes - If you google "Beautiful Spring Clothes" on Google Images, Hermes Spring 2014 might just be the first ones to appear! Luxurious and rich, Hermes will always be one of the symbols of High Class!

9. Valentino - In a time where too little has become equal to too much, Valentino let out a collection to remind us of the beauty that EXCESS once represented! The embroidery was completely wonderful and the accessories were so divine! So unique from the other collections shown in Paris!

10. Michael Kors - Might as well be my favorite collection! Easy, glamorous, luxurious, beautiful, endearing, delightful, wonderful clothes!!! Being a vintage-lover, I love the somewhat 40's vibe it pulled off! Modern but classic, Michael Kors is one of the best collections this season!!



Worth noting:
Miu Miu - Quintessential Miuccia is always GREAT!! ink:

 

[Phuel]

BEST

3. Marc Jacobs

Never thought I'd even appreciate, let alone praise this collection as one of the most unique, individual offering, but it is-- for me, anyways.

Without a doubt, it rips Muiccia in the awkward print department and Rei, in her odd combination of the unexpected and even more awkward silhouettes. But this time, Marc's been able to successfully translate the grungy skater and surfware with highly-embellished couturey elements that's very Americana into a look that's his. It may be superficial ultimately, but as a fashion statement, I find it's genuine and refreshing. Or maybe it's great to see Marc push a collection that's young, street and modern but not defined by age, and without desperately seeking the approval of the high streetstyle kids.

2. Bottega Veneta

It's quite amazing how Tomas is able to make heavy layers, ruffles folds, and pleats look unfussy and unpretentious. Part schoolgirl uniform in its casual attitude, but all beautifully constructed, this is effortless dressing redefined. And a fantastically, rich and luxurious color-palette to boot.

1. Dries Van Noten

Dries just casually work his unique but always welcoming form of magic into every piece here. It's classic Dries and no one does eclectic, quirky elegance quite like him. This time around, the prints and colors are lush and luxe. And not a lick of a gimmick.

1. No. 21

Flawless. Irresistibly sexy and confident without even trying. Alessandro really knows how to dress his women. Each piece is unique and the craftsmanship is appreciatively evident. There's no hard concept, theory or anything contrived; just beautifully modern clothes for women. Very excited to see how he'll revamp Rocha. He deserves all the success and attention.



WORST

So many stupid-looking designs masquerading as high fashion these days. Some-- a lot actually, so desperately seeking attention offerings. Or just simply all loud, annoying gimmicks, masking a forgettable collection, they're best ignored.

3. Balenciaga

Wang is best when he stays within the confines of his trusted sportswear in monochromatic. When he attempts ladylike sophistication, this is the result. Take away the carefully directed and chosen set and venue, and the designs are frighteningly cheap-looking. His version of technical innovation with the pearly pastels look disastrously weak. I suppose it 's all very accessible: the short dress/ skirt lengths, the pastels and the typical femininity will have girls and women who think Cosmopolitan magazine is high fashion coveting this brand. But ultimately, it's just consumer-baiting blandness with a prestigious label. Wang's a natural at branding, I'll give him that.

2. Giorgio Armani

He's been wavering so precariously between achingly-chic and unbelievably garish these last few years. His 2009 A/W collection that had a seductively YSL-feel and very Catherine Deneuve in "The Hunger" remains a standard of luxury-design for me. Now this... Oh god, it's so indisputably... garish and homely. Armani has regressed into mother-of-the-bride and seniors-cruise wear with this offering. Watery, blurry pastel florals and such unattractive suitings. Shocking how the man that once defined understated luxury designs has turned into one of the most outdated, clueless and messy designers in this decade.

1. Burberry Prorsum

Christopher is clearly not even trying anymore when not too long ago, he led with such electricity. Now, the designs look depressing and plain drab, as do the models wearing the designs-- even Christopher himself, looks like he preferred to be somewhere else. Just a dead air of apathy overall. All the looks can be easily put together from older collections-- except for the opulent, jewel-engrusted pieces, whether from Prorsum or any other designers'. Or, as the famous saying from around these parts: "Looks like Zara..."

 

[dodencebt]

My best shows would be (in an alphabetical order

Altuzarra: A bit repetitive, but beautiful reworked silhouettes. Loved the metallic dresses in the end.
Calvin Klein: A beautiful and innovative deconstructed collection which is a great step forward for the house.
Celine: The bravest and probably the best collection to have come out of Celine so far.
Dries Van Noten: Nothing I wouldn't expect from Noten, but still very beautiful. Adored the gold pleats.
Givenchy: Like CK, a big step forward for the house. Definitely loved the prints, even though some of the Asian influenced silhouettes were a little expecting and shallow.
Marc Jacobs: Gorgeous collectible jackets.
Prada: Like every season, Mrs. Prada has done it again. She has an IT collection of the season with a lot of thought behind it.
Proenza Schouler: Even though a lot of people seemed underwhelmed by it, I thought it was a very refined and elegant collection.

My worst and most disappointing shows would be (in an alphabetical order

Alexander Wang: Definitely on the disappointing side. I believe he is turning into Jacobs at this point, not completely focusing on his own brand.
Balenciaga: After a beautiful new direction last season, Wang creates a vague copy of what Ghesquiere used to do for the house.
Gucci: There is a huge change needed at Gucci ASAP.
Just Cavalli: Not worth mentioning, but I do have a comment - it's like a teenager had gummy bears and Menthol and threw up all over the collection.
Prabal Gurung: A very controversial collection which did have some great pieces, but it was mostly all over the place.
Rodarte: Without a doubt the worst collection of the season.
Saint Laurent: It could've been much worse, but still doesn't live up to my expectations of what the French brand should look like.
Tom Ford: I never thought I'd say this, but I would take Ford's last collection over this boring one anytime.

 

[jeffandtheworld]

Best
Hermes
Dior
Givenchy
Lanvin
Louis Vuitton
Proenza Scholer
Celine

Worst
Saint Laurent
Versace
Marc Jacobs
Chanel

Disappointed
Prada
Dries Van Noten
Valentino
Altuzarra
Miu Miu

New Favourites
Burberry
Christopher Kane

 

[FashionFanatico]

Best

Aganovich (Supersupercool clothes and styling)
Hermès (fresh and classy, without beeing dated)
Christian Wijnants (best colours and shapes, loved it.)
Rykiel (the future of feminine elegance)
Kors (cool vintage feel without being too retro)
Sacai (this is how u do sporty luxury - take a note gucci)


Worst

Chanel (who wants to look like a childrens drawing book?)
J.W Anderson (fugly fleshy unflattering frocks)
Prada (custo for the rich and blind)
Ungaro (i,m out of words for this mess)


Disappointed

Valentino (Medieval Babushka Warfare, so dated in 2014)
Prabal Gurung (Dior, Balenciaga, anything: what a copycat!)
Burberry (sooo boooooring)
Carven (these camo prints!
Gucci (gym + art nouveau = brave, but hideous, Frida, it's time to leave)



New Heroes

No.21 (every single piece screamed must-have)
Lutz & Huelle (wow! so many desirebale clothes)
Iceberg (young and fresh, very promising new direction)

 

[lelaid]

Best
Louis Vuitton: It isn't because it's Marc's last collection, I just loved the dark, opulent glamour of it.
Givenchy: Finally a good collection from him. The draped pieces are to die for.
No. 21: Yet another wonder quirky/sophisticated collection from him
Narciso Rodriguez: The master of minimalism shows everyone how it is done.
Hermés: Chic, understated, and elegant
Balmain: It's not anything new but I really liked it.
Lanvin: Fun, glamourous, and quirky

Worst
Rodarte: Trashy, trashy, trashy
Ungaro: Tacky and trashy
Saint Laurent: Dated, repetitive, and unimaginative
Dior: Too many ideas crammed into one collection
Prabal Gurung: Looked like Dior and Prada rejects that were done in horrible, cheap fabric

 

[VersaceVixen009]

Best:
Chloe- Effortlessly beautiful, showed the essence of a true "Chloe" woman with a bit of a boyish charm.
Dries Van Noten- Beautiful and decadent with the embellishments, gold and ruffles, but FAR from overdone. Just perfect.
Lanvin- Alber really went back to the archives and brought back the works of Jeanne back to life with the metallic flapper dresses, and really did fabulous work with the silhouettes.
Miu Miu- Fabulous optic prints,fabulous beading on skirts and dresses, fabulous coats and leggings. Quirky and refreshing and optimistic!
Guy Laroche- Very feminine and innovative.
No 21- Great mashup of menswear and womenswear, sporty but still very chic.

Runners up:
Anna Sui for bringing back her true signature back into this collection, Roberto Cavalli for a new bohemian approach, Alberta Ferretti for airy, beautiful romanticism.

Worst collections/Disappointments:
Marc Jacobs- I think everyone was really threw off by this. Ugly, ugly, ugly.
Calvin Klein- Awful color palate, horrible silhouettes, bad fringes. Maybe 3 looks were nice.
Jil Sander- Extremely lackluster.
Christian Dior- Boring, blegh.
John Galliano- Shut down the brand already.
Dolce and Gabbana- Same ole, same old traditional Sicilian look. Like I said before, maybe jail time will help these two re-foster some creativity.
Proenza Schouler